Bowdoin College has been educating leaders for America and the world since the dawn of the American republic. Founded in 1794, Bowdoin is a highly selective college of approximately 1,750 students of distinction from across America and around the world.

Completed by a court artist in the thirteenth century, this scene from the Heiji scrolls is an early and valuable source for reconstructing the warrior culture of Japan. The scene appearing on the Conlan's latest interactive site is the property of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and provides a rare and valuable depiction of early Japanese armor.

"The internet allows for ancient sources to be disseminated and understood in ways that are impossible to know through books," says Conlan, who is a leading expert on medieval Japanese history and warfare.

"Likewise," he adds, "One can sometimes see elements of the scrolls through high quality digital images that are not so easily discerned from viewing the original. There is a section that depicts rising smoke from the palace, and nearby the underlying sketch of the artist is visible, but I could not figure this out when viewing the actual scrolls, but it is clear when seeing the images."

The interactive scroll is an excellent tutorial into how to read Japanese scrolls, which read from right to left. Conlan's translations and notes appear discreetly throughout the scroll, as viewers zoom in and out on scenes and specific objects. Technology for navigating the online version of the scrolls was developed by Bowdoin Associate Director of Communications for Production and Multimedia Kevin Travers.